Summer 2021
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Welcome to
Connecting Kaufman
Summer is here Welcome to the summer issue of Connecting Kaufman! Are you ready for some fresh vegetables and locally made goat cheese? Kaufman Fresh Market and Farm Stoehr have the produce and goods for you!
Amy Fowler
Publisher The Kaufman Herald
And many of us started home improvement projects during the pandemic, or at least we thought about it! G&S Sales is the place to get your supplies, along with the advice to get the job done right. This locally-owned business has been serving our area for generations, and visiting one of their stores is a family tradition for many of us. Stopping in to look around and say hi is a good break from the summer heat! Our staff is enjoying a little break time this season, and our children are certainly ready for their summer break. We have lots of baseball on hand, and soon band camps will start for our musicians. In the meantime, enjoy some ice cream or a cold drink, and sit back and savor this edition of Connecting Kaufman! Thanks for reading.
Amy Fowler
Summer 2021 // Connecting K a u f m a n / 3
6
8 13 Interested in Advertising in the Next Edition of Connecting Kaufman? Autumn Edition 10,000 Circulation Advertising Deadline: September 1, 2021
Story Ideas are Welcome! Call the Kaufman Herald at (972) 932-2171
4 / C o n n ecti n g K aufman // Summer 2021
is a publication of The Kaufman Herald. All rights reserved. Staff Melanie Mazur • Publisher Andrew Burnes • Managing Editor Amy Fowler • Ad Director Annette Wallace • Graphic Artist Wendy Perkins • Office is a publication of Manager The Kaufman Herald. All rights reserved.
Contributing Writers Staff Gay Fowler Amy Fowler • Publisher Bailey Daniels Melanie Mazur • Editor Elaine Frosch • News Reporter Hannah Loghry
Michael Morrill • Sports Reporter Wendy Perkins • Office Manager
PO Box 460 300Contributing N. Washington Writers Mollie Kasper TX Melanie Mazur Kaufman, 75142 Frosch (972)Elaine 932-2171
PO Box 460 • 300 N. Washington Kaufman, TX 75142 (972) 932-2171
A division of Hartman Newspapers, LP. A division of Hartman Newspapers, LP
Publication dates for Connecting Kaufman are in January, April, July and October. Connecting Kaufman is published four times a year.
The Kaufman Herald
DISCOUNT BUILDING MATERIALS
YOUR ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR ALL CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS • Well-known Brand Names • Unbeatable Pricing • Huge Inventory & Stock PLUS Custom Orders • High Quality at Highly Affordable Prices • In-House Cabinet Shop • Monthly Specials & Deals WHY SHOP AT G&S SALES? • A+ Rating from the BBB • The BEST Prices in the Area • Chamber of Commerce Members • Family-Owned • Price Matching the Competition • Fast Delivery Times
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TERRELL
4304 West US Hwy 80 Terrell, TX 75160 Tel: 972-563-7821
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1119 East Quinlan Parkway Quinlan, TX 75474 Tel: 903-356-4805
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602 East Goode Quitman, TX 75783 Tel: 903-763-2931
Proudly Serving Texas for Over 30 Years
Service - Knowledge - Experience G&S SALES OFFERS KNOW-HOW TO GET THE JOB DONE
By Elaine Frosch
Upon walking into G&S Sales located on the side of Highway 80 in Terrell, customers are greeted with smiles by the staff. Often, the staff will even know customers’ names. If in need of building materials such as lumber, doors, cabinets, flooring, hardware, or roofing, G&S sales is the one-stop shop. From friendly staff to endless inventory, they have it all. The owners of G&S Sales are David and Sonja Desmond. They have two sons, Jordan and Peyton Desmond, who also work between the companies’ three locations in Terrell, Quinlan, and Quitman. The original building opened in 1975. David Desmond started working for the company shortly afterwards in 1977 and continued working part time throughout high school and college. 6 / C o n n ecti n g K aufman // Summer 2021
Following Desmond’s graduation from college, he and his wife bought the company, which at the time was a salvage business. Over the years, the company started offering new and expanded products to clients, and the business has grown steadily during the past four decades. G&S Sales is different from its competitors because it is owned and run by a local family and focuses on the needs of its customers. Running a family business has perks of the tight bonds shared between family members and the amount of communication that occurs to run the store(s) smoothly each day. Response time is more rapid, if changes need to be made, they are able to be done more effectively and efficiently. There is more investment in family owned companies because of the love, connections, and attention to detail that is put in. Whereas with large chain stores, you don’t have as much of a personal experience.
That family experience extends to the staff, as well. More than half of the staff at G&S has worked there for 15 years or longer. These employees have instilled a large amount of time and trust into the business and the owners because the bonds and communication between all parties is strong. The large demand for construction supplies continues to rise nationwide, including in Texas. With the demand increase, G&S Sales continues to serve customers with performance, service, and product availability, even through the trials of the pandemic. G&S has kept up with the large supply demand by continuing to purchase items ahead and stocking up all year long. The wide variety of inventory at G&S is made possible by large companies around the state and in other states calling with overstock, slightly damaged, obsolete, or bankruptcy products they are looking to clear out and send them to G&S. Upon receiving the products, G&S repackages the parts and pieces and splits the inventory up for resale between the three stores. Establishing and building good relationships is a key to success in the scheme of life. Since opening G&S, many generations of customers have been brought into the stores by parents or grandparents. “I have customers come in and say ‘my grandad brought me in here,’ “ said owner David Desmond. “We have multigenerational customers as well as employees. Many kids have grown up in the store.” The memories of visiting the store are ones that will last a lifetime. When walking the grounds of G&S, workers are often discussing products and services with customers. Owners and staff of G&S are also passionate about giving back to their communities. The company supports organizations such as local Chambers of Commerce, the Genesis Center, United Way, as well as local schools. “It’s not just about selling stuff but about giving back to the community,” Desmond said. “That’s important to us as a family. ” Overall, shopping and chatting with the staff at G&S Sales makes for a pleasurable shopping experience. The Desmonds note that the legacy of the business will be continued by sons Peyton and Jordan, who plan to continue following in their father’s footsteps.
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Got goats? Farm Stoehr in Scurry produces farmstead goat cheese
got goats?
Farm Stoehr in Scurry produces farmstead goat cheese
By Mollie Kasper Photos by Mollie Kasper The midday Texas sun pelts the gently rolling pasture of Kelsey Stoehr’s (pronounced STORE) 13-acre goat farm, but her goats know how to beat the heat. They are pleasantly ensconced in the shade of a large oak tree, with just a contented “Maaah,” to give away their location. Stoehr disrupts this idyllic scene by waving a few leafy branches in their direction, and they follow her like the pied piper. Stoehr has worked hard to develop such a positive relationship with her “girls.” She attends the birth of every kid, has bottle-fed most of them from their first day of life, and gives them pats and ear-scratches frequently. The goats return the favor by submitting gently to twice-daily milking, providing her with the milk she both sells raw and uses to create chèvre (SHEV), or goat cheese.
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Getting Started
The Farm Stoehr, a legal and licensed commercial dairy and cheese-making facility which opened in April, is the culmination of several years of dreams, hope, and plain hard work. As a child, Stoehr was allergic to cow’s milk, so she “was raised on goat’s milk,” which made goat farming a natural fit for her. She explains that cow’s milk has larger proteins than goat’s milk, so “people who are lactose intolerant can usually tolerate goat’s milk much easier than cow’s milk.” After touring Latte Da Dairy in Flower Mound, Stoehr hungered to start a farm of her own. Even though she had no agricultural background, she exclaimed to her husband, Kyle, “We can do this. I wanna do this!” Three years ago, they moved with their son to the property in Scurry. Stoehr left her career as a physician’s office manager behind, never looking back. Dairy laws are extremely strict. There are both federal and state regulations for floor coatings, wall coverings, the direction the doors open, ventilation,
Summer 2021 // Connecting K a u f m a n / 9
light placement, equipment standards, distance between walls and equipment, where drains flow, and the shape of sinks. To navigate the complicated web of cottage food laws, Stoehr worked with consultants and mentors. There are “so many specifics,” she notes, “That if you don’t have a dairy mentor… it’s impossible.” The dairy features clean-in-place equipment, which is, “the gold standard for food pipelines,” Stoehr says. Although the regulations are rigorous (the dairy is inspected every four weeks), Stoehr welcomes the opportunity to monitor the herd. “I appreciate the testing. We worked really hard to get where we were, and I enjoy seeing our results coming back every month and knowing where my girls sit and that the milk that I’m sending out is good. If you’re not testing it, you have no idea.”
The Goats
Stoehr raises three breeds of goats: LaManchas, Nubians, and Alpines. The Alpines produce the most milk, but it is lower in fat content, similar to two-percent milk. The milk from the Nubians and LaManchas has a higher fat content, closer to that of whole milk. All the goats have names, and, Stoehr claims, their own mischievous personalities. All the goats are registered and come from show lines. Although Stoehr does not personally show her goats, she does sell some of the kids for use as show animals, pets, breeding stock and homesteading.
Making Cheese
It takes about three days to make chévre, from milking to finished product. According to Stoehr, “A smaller batch of cheese cultures and makes quicker.” The milking and cheese-making take place in a series of three rooms. The process starts in the milking parlor. The herd of sixteen nannies are milked twice a day, at 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. It is a rough schedule for Stoehr, but she claims she “fell in love” with dairy farming so “there’s no going back.” The milking parlor holds six goats at a time, and is thoroughly cleaned both before and after milking. In addition, the goats’ udders are washed and examined prior to each milking. The entire milking process takes about an hour and a half. Currently, Stoehr handles all the milking chores herself, although she is training a high school student to help with the afternoon milking. She has even created a color-coded checklist to ensure that all the steps are followed. The milk travels from the goats’ udders into a clear collection tank, where it can be observed for any irregularities. Once the milk level in the collection tank reaches a certain point, it is pumped through a tube inserted in a hole in the wall to the 50-gallon bulk tank in the next
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room. After the milking is finished, the hole is sealed to prevent cross-contamination. The milk is kept temperature-controlled and monitored in the bulk tank for up to three days, until it is time to make cheese. When enough milk has been collected, it is pumped using a peristaltic pump through another tube in the wall to the pasteurizer in the cheese-making room. With this type of pump, the milk only touches the tube, never any part of the pump apparatus. In the entire process, the milk is never put in buckets or touched. The pasteurizer is a large, stainless steel tank enveloped in a water jacket. The tank is closed and an internal paddle keeps the milk moving while the water around the tank is heated to 145°, then cooled to 86°, a process which takes about six hours. Stoehr then adds the culture, and the milk begins to separate into curds and whey. Several hours later, Stoehr or her mother, Joan, who assists with the cheesemaking, checks the pH, then scoops out the curds and hangs them in bags to drain. The cheese is then salted, flavored, and hand-scooped into containers. At this time of year, one gallon of milk makes about one pound of cheese, but as the goats continue through the lactation season, the fat content of the milk increases, which increase the cheese yield.
Products
The Farm Stoehr currently sells three flavors of chévre: plain, garlic and herb, and hot honey, in eight-ounce containers for $10 each. In addition to the cheese, they offer raw goat’s milk for $7 a half gallon. Stoehr is working on feta cheese and skyr, an Icelandic-style yogurt similar to Greek yogurt. She sells wholesale to restaurants in Dallas, but individuals can purchase the cheese and milk and schedule a pickup time through the website: https:// farmstoehr.com. Pickup is by appointment only.
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“Fresh” Farmers’ Market
Take a look at Kaufman’s By Mollie Kasper
Excitement is building around the Fresh Market on Grove Street, Kaufman’s farmers’ market! What started in the spring of 2019 with just a few vendors on the sidewalk in front of The Mercantile on Grove has survived the coronavirus pandemic and expanded into a field of twenty vendors, three food trucks, activities for kids and live music. The driving forces behind this revival are organizers Glee Pugh, Tamara Stahlman, and Kellie Stolusky, all with longtime connections to the Kaufman area. Pugh, who has lived in Kaufman for over 45 years and is practically a walking encyclopedia of events and businesses in Kaufman, came up with the idea of starting a farmer’s market in Kaufman while traveling. She has a passion for local food and farmers, and observed that “any town that has rejuvenation always has a farmers’ market.” According to Pugh, she thought, “If I can help make that happen [in Kaufman], that would be awesome.” Her parents own the bank building where the Especially For You Tea Room is located, and based on that connection, Pugh was invited to join the weekly meetings of the Kaufman Downtown Merchants Group. There, she connected with Stolusky, who inspired the name for the market. The opening of the Fresh Market on Grove coincided with the grand opening of the Mercantile on Grove, an antique stored owned and managed by Stolusky. Business at the Market that first summer was “tiny, tiny, about six of us, just hanging in there,” Pugh recalls, but they continued, publicizing through the Kaufman Herald, on Instagram and with flyers. The global pandemic caused the market to close for most of the 2020 season, but it has come roaring back to life this season. Searching for a larger venue, Glee connected with Tamara Stahlman, owner of the vacant lot across from The Mercantile. Tamara and sister-in-law Sandy Stahlman had previously held a farmers’ market on the square and then near the Kaufman County Poor Farm, but both had closed Summer 2021 // Connecting K a u f m a n / 1 3
down. They were excited to use their lot as a venue, and the Fresh Market moved across the street, opening up space for additional vendors. THINGS TO DO There are plenty of things to entice all the senses at the Fresh Market. The aroma of food trucks wafts through the air, and visitors can purchase food from WTF (What the Frankfurter), Sweet Shaved Ice, and Livin’ La Vida Cowgirl Kitchen. Music is provided by a local band, The Sunshiners, and occasional appearances have been made by Cody Daniel and Chris Ricketts. For the kids, a balloon artist creates a menagerie of balloon animals, a leatherworks booth provides instruction in leather crafting, and a painting booth allows them to make their own art on-site or purchase a kit to paint later. The highlight of the Market is, of course, the vendors, all local to the Kaufman area. Pugh manages the vendor list to provide a wide variety of merchandise to customers. She is particularly passionate about local farmers and ranchers, and attempts to provide an outlet for their products. Although not every vendor attends every Market, several regulars can often be found. Vanderslice Treasures and Treats produces a variety of baked goods such as fried pies, cookies, spicy saltines, and miniature bundt cakes. Big Oaks, Little Farm sells sourdough bread, home-grown herb mixes, and goat milk soap. In addition to grass-fed angus beef, Lonestar Farm produces tantalizing flavors of jams, from whiskey peach to blackberry jalapeño. Another ranch, Texas Belles Beef, produces an Akaushi/Angus cross-breed. H2O Grow offers aquaponically grown lettuces and microgreens, the freshest you will ever taste. Other vendors include Big Tex Salsa, Not Your Average Pie (well-named, for the pie is certainly above average), Pimlico Ranch, Sleepy Duck Bakery, Burned Barrel, Brush + Berry Skincare, Sweet Thread of Grace Apothecary and the Vrzalik Farm. PLANNING YOUR VISIT The Fresh Market is located on Grove Street, just off the square in Kaufman. It operates every second and fourth Saturday of each month, May through 14 / C o n n ecti n g K aufman // Summer 2021
mid-July and September through December, weather permitting. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., except for special events. Follow the Market on Instagram (freshmarketongrovest) or join the Facebook group (Kaufman Fresh Market) for exact dates and vendor lists. Guests can park for free in the lot across from the Kaufman subcourthouse. When the Market re-opens after its hiatus during the dog days of summer, it will feature a pumpkin patch in addition to the usual assortment of vendors. December will bring the last regular Fresh Market on the 11th, and a special event, Market Under the Stars, with activities for children, including a visit from Santa on Dec. 21. The square merchants will complement the Fresh Market activities with an Octoberfest celebration and Christmas on the Square. Come see for yourself what the excitement is all about. You won’t be disappointed in this gem of a farmers’ market!
Want to become a vendor?
To become a vendor, contact Glee Pugh at (972) 467-3888. Booths cost $10 each Market. Vendors must complete an application and abide by the Fresh Market bylaws and all state of Texas cottage food laws. The city of Kaufman does not allow live animals to be sold at or brought to the Market. There is currently a waiting list for vendors, but according to Pugh, the vendors usually fluctuate, so they are able to accommodate most vendors quickly.
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